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Tuesday, 14 August 2012

Fluffy Flock Nail Art

The "Fluffy/Fuzzy" nail art has been trending on Pinterest for a while now and, just like with the Caviar Manicure, I have been dying to try it out! My biggest problem was getting the Flocking powder (the fluffy stuff).

All the beauty fundi's and fashion lovers are constantly admiring US and UK sites, and always have to purchase things online because they only reach SA shores 6 months later and by then, the trend is ancient and your credit card is maxed out which leads to a very unhappy lady!

I have searched countless craft stores and stationary shops, in he hopes of finding flocking powder, without any luck, and even if I did find any, their colours would probably make me vomit. I then stumbled upon this blog and she shows a really easy way to make your own flocking powder from the most bizarre thing (I would never have thought of it myself), Ribbon!

Needles to say, I was more excited about making my own flocking powder than finally having fluffy nails!!

I wont lie and say that it is just like the flocking powder that you buy from online stores because it's not. You would have to cut the ribbon fiber's teenie tiny small in order to get the perfect "powder" effect. My ribbon snipping handy work, worked just fine and I still ended up with fun fluffy nails.

There is hardly any technique for applying the flocking powder to your nails. You literally just put a layer of nail polish on (one layer will be enough) and while its still wet, you sprinkle the powder over your nail and press down lightly. (NO TOP COAT!)

My flocking powder ball

As I said above, my flocking powder's fibers were a bit longer because I'm not a machine and cannot cut super tiny strips. This actually worked to my advantage because the fibers gathered into a little ball and all I had to do was pat the ball onto my nail and the fibers would stick. *YAY* No mess!

"It's so fluffy I'm gonna Die!"

After the nail polish is dry and the fluff is stuck on nicely, take a small pair on nail scissors and trim the sides, where the fibers stick out, brush off any excess fibers and you're done!

A few Tips and Tricks

1) When shopping for your ribbon, take your nail polish with you so you can match the colours as best as you can. the fluffy effect is way prettier if the colours match, that way, if you start getting patches (where the flocking powder falls off) it won't look terrible.
2) Cut your flocking powder straight into the container you plan on storing it in. There is always static electricity around us and tiny fibers tend to stick like crazy. This will help keeping things neat and you wont have to clean up as much.
3) Ribbon is really cheap so, if you can, buy a few at once. You only need about 1 meter for a good amount of flocking powder.

My overall thought's on the Fluffy flock nail art

I LOVE IT! The main reason, for me, is the reaction you get from people who see your nails. They squeal and giggle like little school girls because it's such a fun thing to have on your nails! The other reason, is that it stays on for quite some time. You will get the odd fall out here and there but it isn't like a caviar manicure, where the beads fall off within 24 hours and your nails start looking really trashy.I really hope you'll try this trend! If you do, send me your pictures via Twitter or post them on to my Facebook Page!
Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

UPDATE

After wearing my flock nails for a few days (two to be exact) I just had to take them off!! To be awkwardly honest, it felt like really gross, shocking pink, pubic hair…. And that’s pretty much all I can say.

Okay, don’t throw the flocking idea completely out the window because it was partially my fault for two reasons:
1) The ribbon that I used was quite wire-like and not really soft/fluffy
2) and I didn’t cut the fibres small enough so it looked like I had a bunch of Telletubbies’ private part curlies on my nails.

Overall I was really impressed at the durability of the fibres. I did tons of housework, washed my hands a lot and it stayed on.